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Demon
A Demon, Pterodactyl or "Vichukha" (as referred to in several Russian sequels to 2033) is a surface predator that appears throughout the metro universe. They also appear in the PC Gamer issue on Metro Last Light in which it claims Demons mutated from cats. Overview Demons are large, powerful predators that are only found on the surface. The size of Demons may vary from a baby Demon the size of a cat, while the largest encountered is a deceased Demon in the level The Crossing. This Demon is the size of a large horse. A Demon can be described as having a knobbly spine, short tail and three pairs of limbs: four prehensile limbs and two large wings. They also have a long head with a blunt snout, consisting of a bat-like nose, eyes with vertical cat-like slit pupils set far apart on the head, and a large mouth with 4 primary teeth and several secondary teeth. The backs of demons are covered in sparse, short black fur and there are folds of skin on the base of the neck. Their wings are attached to their body with massively muscled arm like limbs that are almost twice the diameter of their thigh muscles. This explains it's ability to fly despite a Demon's massive size and likely very high body weight, it's wings are in fact so powerful that it can hover in place in the air for significant periods of time. Demons produce roars that seem to be a guttural version of a tiger's. They hunt in small packs spread out across several blocks, so if one is seen, there's likely to be another close by. They hunt watchers, amphibians, and humans brave or foolish enough to venture to the surface. Like gargoyles they perch on the corners of buildings next to a relatively open area, allowing them to find prey more easily. While they prefer to attack by circling overhead and swooping down on prey to wound it or carry it away, if they can catch humans in the open they will sometimes land to attack. They tend to avoid entering structures as this limits their ability to escape by flying if the situation turns against them, but in some occasions they will attack through windows, doors, or damaged walls or other barriers to get at human prey inside. However on at least one occasion a Demon entered a hole in the roof of the large chamber in the Library, was deft enough to launch swooping attacks without running into any walls and would occasionally hover in place. They are not easily intimidated, and will readily attack even creatures much larger than themselves, such as a Bog Shrimp. Mutated From Demons do not have projecting ears, instead possessing ear-holes similar to that of reptiles, birds and amphibians. However, the demons do possess hair while lacking feathers, scales, or beaks, suggesting a mammalian origin. They have very bat-like noses, seem to fly like bats, and sometimes swoop down like bats upon their prey However, the demon has an extra set of arms in the front, this may simply be an extensive mutation that was quickly brought into their gene-pool following the nuclear war. Another aspect that would support them being descendants of bats would be that in order to achieve such a drastic form of mutation in such a short time, they would have to have a fairly high birth rate, this theory is supported by the fact that most of the other mutants seem to be descended from fast breeders too; nosalis from moles or shrews; lurkers and watchers from Cats and Dogs. Opposing the bat theory is the fact that their legs are similar to feline or canine hind legs (But such a mutation would come easy compared to the extra set of arms). Also, their roars strongly resemble those of a lion, tiger, or other large cat (as opposed to the screeching of a bat), and they possess vertical slit pupils similar to felines. These features, in addition to the layout of their teeth, would seem to support the possibility that the demons are descended from tigers, which were native to some parts of Russia before the war, however, the relatively slow birthrate of tigers would seem to discredit this. This could mean that they just mutated from ordinary house cats, which were more numerous and bred faster than tigers. At times, they do display some distinctly feline-esque behaviour; the baby demon in Last Light reacts to Artyom's presence by arching its back and hissing like an agitated house cat, while an adult one encountered on the Bridge curiously paws at the cable that Artyom rides along before biting it. It is also theoretically possible that given the many different physical characteristics that are drawn from several different unrelated species that Demons are some kind of genetically-engineered chimera-like animal that was created in a lab; not an entirely unlikely prospect, given that Khan raises the possibility of the Dark Ones also being genetically-engineered. In the novel, demons are also said to have "nests''. Such a place may suggest that these creatures lay eggs. This theory suggests that the demon, at least in the books, may have a bird origin instead of a mammalian one. This idea is supported by the render of the demon in the books as shown here, but also in the overall physiology of the crow-like creatures found in the swamp levels in Metro: Last light. Like demons, these have long tails and membranous wings, although they seem a lot more bird-related than demons. In Metro: Last Light demons posses a relatively similar size, shape and behavior but have undergone significant external appearance changes; they have a distinctly reptilian appearance with scaly skin and no fur or hair. Demons also appear to have become even more muscular than they were before, their talons are now a bit shorter but are thicker and wider. On top of all this they have a significantly different head shape, their teeth are in different places and more uniform in size and shape plus their jaws and eyes are in slightly different places and shapes. Tactics Demons usually fly around, high up as to where they can't get hit, before they swoop down to either attack in passing with its claws and teeth, or else to pick its victim up and drop them from high above to kill them. Although it's not a very big being, it will take quite a few shots from the Automatic Shotgun to kill it, and even more from a Kalash. Fighting it in the open is an extremely dangerous endeavor; if you insist on doing so, your only hope is to make absolutely sure that there's a tall, solid object behind you (this will prevent them from making swooping attacks, and will force them to land in order to attack). If the player is intending to fight a demon they should be well prepared, as they are extremely tough, even on easy difficulty. If the Player has no sticky grenades to fight and instantly kill a standard demon, they can take between six and twelve shots from the Automatic Shotgun, or almost three magazines from a Kalash, though on lower difficulties, one revolver cylinder (six rounds) will usually suffice. The demons prefer to perch in only a handful of locations; it is possible to locate an area of cover with a view of one of these positions and inflict head-shots on the demons with a scoped weapon. They will usually take off after the first few shots, but eventually return to the same position. A scoped revolver is ideal for this method of attack, being able to kill the demon with relatively few shots. Demons are able to land in places other than their preset perches, however, and may attempt to do so if the player is hiding in a spot with a lot of horizontal cover but no roof, such as on the top floor of the Nazi outpost. In the Novel Demons are the first surface creatures seen by Artyom on his trip to the Library from Polis where one is seen nesting on a church spire. They are described as having leathery wings and are often called "pterodactyls" by other stalkers however, unlike the game, they are described as not having any neck, with long heads jutting from their chest. Demons are encountered again when Artyom is pursued by watchers when one swoops down and carries one off to eat. Later a demon attacks Artyom himself outside VDNKh station as it has made a nest directly above the station entrance, it also attacks the rangers vehicle, a scene used again in the video game when demons pull over the vehicle in the Prologue. Trivia Metro 2033 Novel: *In the novel, some of the Stalkers tell Artyom that the demons might actually come from the native birds who resided in Moscow before the blast. The idea is later reinforced as a Stalker informs that demons nest, usually in high places. **In the novel it is mentioned that some demons made their nest right on the top of Cathedral of Christ the Savior. Metro 2033 Video Game: *Bourbon jokingly prefers to call them "bitches", as he says in the mission Dead City 1. *As demons prefer high locations from where they can spot their prey, the largest amount of Demons encountered in game can be found at Ostankino Tower. Roughly six are seen at once descending from the tower to attack the Rangers as they are busy fighting the Howler horde. *None of the standard demons in the game have to be killed, all can be avoided except the one on top of the Ostankino Tower. On the other hand, all demons can be killed (excluding the swarm from the Tower level), but some are particularly difficult to kill, as they only appear for a short period of time. *If Artyom gets pounced by a demon, or picked up off the ground, he cannot survive. This often ends in death though in levels such as Outpost or Alley. The player can also kill the demon quickly with a Volt Driver or Heavy Automatic Shotgun. Sticky Grenades are fairly effective too. *On Dead City 2, the player has roughly 10–20 seconds to run from, or kill the demon that attacks Artyom and Bourbon, or it will pounce Artyom. This gives the player just enough time to clear any watchers, and run for cover. *On Top, Artyom must kill the demon before it finishes off injured Miller, otherwise the mission will fail. *On Alley, it's best to find the hole and get in as soon as possible. It's much safer than to stay and fight. Metro: Last Light: *The player gets rewarded for killing a demon with the Helsing, earning the achievement/trophy "Van Helsing" in reference of the infamous vampire hunter and the name of the beast. *In The Dead City, a Demon nest is found with a baby demon inside. The Dark One will chastise you for killing its mother and the baby. **This is also the best location for the Van Helsing achievement/trophy, as the Demon never leaves the nest very far. *Demons are known as Winged Ones by the Dark Ones, most likely as they have not heard the human name for them. *The Demons in Metro: Last Light have a distinctly more reptilian appearance and in fact look very similar to Deathclaws from the Fallout series with wings and fewer digits on their limbs. General: *Because their eyes are quite small and on the sides of their head, it is unlikely that the demons hunt by sight. Their large nasal ducts suggest a powerful sense of smell. It is likely they stay high to catch wafting odors and land at ground level to investigate scents and track potential prey. Gallery DemonConceptArt.jpg|Official demon concept art. DemonOnline.jpg|Concept art of a Pterodactyl for the Russian Metro 2033 Online. Demon.jpg|A demon pokes its head underground. Icallem.jpeg|Waiting for prey to come out into the open Top 1.png|A demon on top of the tower. Alley_M2033_alpha_0005.jpg|A cut ability of the Demon to catch, lift and kill the player was brought back in Last Light. image_294930_thumb_wide620.jpg|Demon in Metro Last Light MLL Demon Baby.jpg|The baby Demon, in its nest Category:Mutants Category:Metro Last Light Category:Metro 2033 Video Game Category:Metro 2033 Novel Category:Metro 2034